"I've fried 400,000 chickens in 20 years, but... This is the hardest time."
Jeong Yeon-seop (53) is a self-employed man who has been fried chicken for 20 years. After opening a BBQ store at Dapsim-ri in Seoul in 1999, it moved twice and settled in the main office in 2012. The monthly average sales at the main store of 122 square meters in size from January to October is 50 million won, which is the highest among BBQs.
It's been okay for 20 years. I raised my children well with chicken franchises. However, sales are down these days. Jeong said last month, "We fell to 40 million to 45 million won. "This is the most difficult time in the last 20 years." This is because the 52 hour workweek reduced the number of "chicken and beer" customers and increased minimum wage made the company more expensive. A 20-year-old chicken restaurant like Jung is rare in the industry. Last year, the period of survival in the food industry announced by the Bank of Korea was 3.1 years (as of 2006 and 2013). In other words, Chung showed six times his survival ability.
Chung's situation, however, illustrates the reality that even a veteran self-employed for 20 years cannot withstand. BBQ's headquarters recently raised the price of chicken 2,000 won to 18,000 won. This is twice as much as Chung's (9500 won) opening the store for the first time. However, Chung has yet to raise the price. Since they have been receiving 2,000 won for delivery since June, they are worried that raising prices again after five months would break their regular goals.
Jung fried 50 to 60 chickens every day after opening his first store. "There will be nearly 400,000 fried chickens in the last 20 years," he said. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the 'Chicken Master'. However, Chung said, "I don't have much talent anymore."
Chung worked for a small small business and lost his job in 1998, right after the financial crisis. He could not find a job for the next year, so he saved his money and opened a chicken restaurant. I didn't take a single day off for five years after opening. Currently, only two days of the year (on Chuseok and New Year's Day) are off. According to the Bank of Korea, the loan balance for self-employed businesses amounts to 591 trillion won (as of the end of the second quarter). This means that each 5.7 million self-employed person owes 100 million won. In addition, the debt-to-income ratio stood at 189 percent (as of 2015). Jeong and his wife only work two days a year 카지노사이트
(Chusuk and Seol) and take about 10 percent of their sales as income. In the case of Chung, the revenue per person is around 2,000 won, excluding rent, delivery and labor costs that have recently risen. "I'm afraid I can't stand another pay increase next month," Chung said. The dispute over leasing contracts is bound to be a decisive blow to franchise owners, who are driven by a marginal increase in minimum wage. This is especially true when the number of buildings has changed for more than five years, such as Chung.
In September, the request for a lease renewal was extended to 10 years due to the revision of the Commercial Rental Protection Act, but Chung is not applied retroactively. "The owner of the new building, who bought the building last year, suddenly informed us that the contract is over, so leave," Chung said. Chung moved in six years ago and paid up to 65 million won to all building owners. Although he has had a small business and raised his sons and daughters well, the situation has limited.
In particular, when the store opened, it spent 320 million won on deposit, deposit (70 million won), and facility expenses (180 million won), of which 200 million won were filled with loans. "We paid 2 million won every month, but we still have 100 million won more," Chung said.
The head of the Korea Institute for the Living and Economy said, "If a rental car is not within the scope of the revision and the owner has to leave without a countervailing force, there will be no other option for the renter to sign." However, the problem is that the market for self-employed businesses is so frozen that they are blocked from going to the store while collecting their rights.
